We’re spending Christmas with my sister, and my brother-in-law has decreed that we shall eat Heavenly Ham for dinner. Fine with me. I loves me some ham!
I’m looking for suggestions for wonderful side dishes to go with. (No yams or sweet potatoes, please. They are an Abomination. :D)
Recipes that can be prepared or assembled a day in advance would be especially appreciated, since we will be making the 3+ hour drive to my sister’s on Christmas Day.
Bring 'em on. Thanks in advance!
This is a retype.
Bush’s baked beans with wieners baked in the oven. The wieners are good enough to fight over. You can use ring Bologna cut into half inch thick slices instead of the wieners. Yum!
Scalloped or au gratin potatoes.
Brown and serve rolls. Garlic butter or honey butter. Some cinnamon or ground clove butter could be good depending on what you have.
Green Eggs
Baked mac and cheese is my absolute favorite thing to have with ham.
You ask what goes with ham? I ask what *doesn’t *go with ham?!?!
(maybe not all of these at the same dinner) 
Green Bean Casserole or plain Steamed Green Beans
Mashed Potatoes (with some roasted garlic if you are so inclined)
Potato Salad
Bread and Mustard
Macaroni and Cheese (oooh, with some little bits of ham in it!)
Brussel Sprouts
Biscuits
Black Eyed Peas
Collard Greens (I don’t like them, but some folks do.)
Can you tell I’m from the South?
Honey and Nut Rice http://www.bigoven.com/98244-Honey-And-Nut-Rice-recipe.html
The version I have calls for half golden raisins and half regular. It’s avery attractive dish in addition to being delicious!
When I make ham, I always like something with a little pineapple, since they go so well together.
So here’s my favorite (easy) side dish recipe. I hate jello salads or anything like that, so I make this instead. It’s got a great sweet flavor without any jello ickiness… it can also be doubled for a crowd and made a day ahead.
It might be a southern recipe, since I got it from my “grammy” who grew up in the deep south.
Pineapple Casserole
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 cup white sugar
4 eggs
1 pinch ground cinnamon (optional)
1 pinch ground nutmeg (optional)
5-6 slices white bread, cubed
1 (20 ounce) can crushed pineapple with juice
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a medium-sized casserole dish.
In a mixing bowl, cream together margarine with sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Stir in cinnamon and nutmeg. Stir bread and crushed pineapple into the mixture. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish.
Bake 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until bubbly and lightly browned.
Cauliflower or broccoli (or something else from that general family) gratin.
Yes!
I like a little ham on the side with my baked extra cheesy macaroni and cheese.
Hashbrown Casserole
30 bag of frozen, shredded hashbrowns, thawed
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 pint sour cream
1/4 c. melted butter
8 oz. shredded cheddar
a little parsley
mix it all together, put into 13x9" pan. Bake, uncovered, at 350 for one hour, until top is browned and crispy.
I like to put ham or keilbasa right in the casserole and serve it with a veggie, but it is the perfect side for ham!!!
Assemble it the day before, cover with foil for the trip, bake it when you get there.
enjoy!
Not really a side dish, but excellent on ham sandwiches.
Mix up:
1 jar orange marmalade
2 Tbsp stone ground mustard
1 1/2 to 2 Tbsp prepared horseradish (or more depending on your tastebuds)
Put it back into the marmalade jar for storage.
Might make a pretty decent glaze as well now that I think about it.
I use a 1:1 mix of marmalade and dijon mustard as a glaze for baked chicken breasts; the leftovers make amazing chicken salad. I’ve never tried it with ham, but–as you note–it should work well.
Corn is a natural friend to pork. Try a corn pudding.
Or even just steamed and buttered. Buttered Brussels sprouts, yum. Steamed cabbage and carrot (they really complement each other) double yum. Broccoli rice and cheese, DROOL.
I really can’t think of anything that doesn’t go with ham.
How about ham?
or maybe…
BACON!!!
I was going to say scalloped potatoes, but this is good too. My recipe is slightly different though. I just use the frozen hashbrowns (no thawing) and cream of mushroom soup instead. I also add a small onion, chopped, and the cheese goes on top, not mixed in. Voila, hobo potatoes!
We’re having ham, too.
Here’s my scalloped potato recipe.
Scalloped Potatoes
6 medium red potatoes
2 tbs corn starch
2 cups milk
8 oz sour cream
¼ cup sliced green onions
½ lb Velveeta, cubed, or grated cheddar
salt and pepper, to taste
Peel and slice potatoes. (If I’m short on time, I’ll parboil them for about 5 minutes.) Place in a greased (or use Pam) baking dish. Salt and pepper, and toss. In medium saucepan, whisk cornstarch, salt, pepper and milk. Stirring constantly, heat to a boil over med heat. When it thickens, add Velveeta, stirring until melted. Remove from heat, and whisk in sour cream. Stir in green onions. Pour over potatoes, and bake at 375 degrees 45 minutes to an hour, until potatoes are done and cheese is browned and bubbly.
I’ve given this to a lot of people and everyone loves it. It goes especially well with ham. If you have any left over you can put chunks of the ham in it and re-heat it. Actually, I have one friend who just puts the ham in to begin with. It can be made a couple of days ahead. Don’t freeze it or the sour cream will become grainy.
**
Sour Cream Potato Casserole**
8 medium potatoes (skins on for now - russets work best)
1/2 to 3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup milk (mostly if baking in the oven or if your sour cream is super thick)
1/4 to 1/2 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 to 1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
about 2 tablespoons chives
Boil the potatoes, skins on, for 35-40 minutes. When they’re cool enough, peel them and crumble them up with your hands. Add the other stuff and stir. I like to mix the other stuff separately and add but you can do it either way. Microwave, or cover with foil and bake along with the ham. I prefer the microwave because it can get a little dry in the oven. When done, dot with butter and serve.
Boorrrr-innngggg. (Still edible, but unexciting.) Here’s what I do with Brussels sprouts:
Get your Brussels sprouts. Cut all but the small ones in half.
Dice enough onion (one large onion at minimum).
Dice some meaty bacon (I like shoulder bacon).
Put a large saute pan on the stove, add water, let it boil.
Dump in the sprouts, blanch till bright green and barely turning soft.
Pour the sprouts in a colander and set aside.
Put the saute pan back on the heat, but turn the heat down a bit.
Dump in some olive oil and/or butter.
Dump in the onion and bacon, cook till the onion starts to caramelize.
Dump the sprouts back in the saute pan, mix, add more olive oil or butter if necessary.
Add salt & pepper to taste (it may take more than you expect)
Crank the heat to high and saute, stirring regularly, till the sprouts are cooked to taste. There will probably be a bunch of water trapped in the sprouts from the blanching, and you want to cook this off. Don’t be surprised if you need to add some more oil too (hey, it’s olive oil–it’s good for you anyway)
Adjust seasonings if necessary, then serve.
Hunter, you left off the last step:
Throw the whole mess out and go eat real food.